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I am using this to share some of my family history research. I use real names because it;s already way too confusing to keep all the relatives straight, without attempting made up names.

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I have to admit I've always enjoyed taking photos more than being in them. That being said, I do understand the permanency of a photo. W...

Friday, February 14, 2014

Fast Train Out of Town

Thomas Coipus "Capers" Urquhart‏ was the husband of my great grandmother's sister. He was born November 14, 1881 in Mitchellville in Manatee County, Florida and died February 15, 1953 in Tampa, Florida. His parents were James Glover Urquhart and Ida Jane Delegal. Thomas is buried in the Myrtle Hill Cemetery in Tampa.

He married Maggie Laura Lundy on April 14, 1903. She was the daughter of William Augustus and Margery Henry Lundy.

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Thomas Coipus Urquhart - Railroad Office

Thomas and Laura's daughter Eva was the first cousin and good friend of my grandmother Edith. They maintained a lifelong correspondence, exchanging letters, photos, etc. When my grandmother died she still had all the letters in her old trunk.

Thomas Urquhart worked as a Railroad Agent in Tampa, Clearwater and later Jacksonville, Florida. On the census records he was shown working for the Tampa Northern and Tampa Gulf Coast Railroads. As part of his duties as a Railroad Agent he also operated the Telegraph. This photo shows him in the Clearwater office around 1915 sitting next to the Telegraph machine.

A few years later, he was sitting at the same desk when someone tried to kill him by shooting a shotgun through the small window.

I found this 1918 Tampa newspaper article about the event. It's not often that you find something new about a relative from an old newspaper that matches with a photo of them. I doubt that anyone in the family has heard this story.

I don't know what the motive was, if it was personal or not but he moved to Jacksonville soon after this.

1 comment:

I would move to after something like that. Wow! He sure was lucky that their aim wasn't good and smart in terms of how he handled the situation once he was shot. I'm glad he lived. Great newspaper article!